Buffalo Wild Wings' profits are blazin'

BW3 had a hot 2011.

​What's hotter than BW3's blazin' sauce? The Minneapolis-based company's stock, that's what.

Buffalo Wild Wings' profits soared 34 percent during the the fourth quarter of 2011, surpassing analysts' expectations. In total, the company killed it all 2011 long, with net income growing from just over $10 million in 2010 to $13.6 million last year.

Next step: World domination. BW3 will have 900 restaurants by the end of this year, and the company is planning to add about 600 more in the next half-decade or so. CEO Sally Smith said BW3 may acquire other restaurant brands along the way to help fuel growth.

During an earnings call with investors, Smith said the company set a record for wing sales on Super Bowl Sunday, with customers eating 7.7 million wings during a one-day chicken holocaust.

Beer, wings, sports -- it may not represent the height of culture, but it continues to be a profitable recipe for the largest Minneapolis-based restaurant chain.